Weijs Cynthia A, Coe Jason B, Christofides Emily, Muise Amy, Desmarais Serge
Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2013 Apr 15;242(8):1083-90. doi: 10.2460/javma.242.8.1083.
To explore the nature and content of information publicly posted to Facebook by early-career veterinarians.
Cross-sectional descriptive study. Sample-352 early-career veterinarians.
Publicly accessible Facebook profiles were searched online from March to May 2010 for profiles of early-career veterinarians (graduates from 2004 through 2009) registered with the College of Veterinarians of Ontario, Canada. The content of veterinarians' Facebook profiles was evaluated and then categorized as low, medium, or high exposure in terms of the information a veterinarian had publicly posted to Facebook. Through the use of content analysis, high-exposure profiles were further analyzed for publicly posted information that may have posed risks to an individual's or the profession's public image.
Facebook profiles for 352 of 494 (71%) registered early-career veterinarians were located. One-quarter (25%) of profiles were categorized as low exposure (ie, high privacy), over half (54%) as medium exposure (i.e., medium privacy), and 21% as high exposure (i.e., low privacy). Content analysis of the high-exposure profiles identified publicly posted information that may pose risks to an individual's or the profession's reputation, including breaches of client confidentiality, evidence of substance abuse, and demeaning comments toward others.
Almost a quarter of veterinarians' Facebook profiles viewed in the present study contained publicly available content of a questionable nature that could pose a risk to the reputation of the individual, his or her practice, or the veterinary profession. The increased use of Facebook and all types of social media points to the need for raised awareness by veterinarians of all ages of how to manage one's personal and professional identities online to minimize reputation risks for individuals and their practices and to protect the reputation and integrity of the veterinary profession.
探讨处于职业生涯早期的兽医在脸书上公开发布的信息的性质和内容。
横断面描述性研究。样本为352名处于职业生涯早期的兽医。
2010年3月至5月在网上搜索可公开访问的脸书个人资料，查找在加拿大安大略省兽医协会注册的处于职业生涯早期的兽医（2004年至2009年毕业）的资料。对兽医脸书个人资料的内容进行评估，然后根据兽医在脸书上公开发布的信息，将其分类为低、中、高暴露级别。通过内容分析，对高暴露级别的个人资料进一步分析可能对个人或行业公众形象构成风险的公开发布信息。
在494名注册的处于职业生涯早期的兽医中，找到了352人的脸书个人资料（71%）。四分之一（25%）的个人资料被归类为低暴露（即高隐私），超过一半（54%）为中暴露（即中等隐私），21%为高暴露（即低隐私）。对高暴露级别的个人资料进行内容分析，发现了可能对个人或行业声誉构成风险的公开发布信息，包括违反客户保密规定、药物滥用证据以及对他人的贬低性评论。
在本研究中查看的兽医脸书个人资料中，近四分之一包含性质可疑的公开内容，可能对个人、其执业机构或兽医行业的声誉构成风险。脸书和所有类型社交媒体的使用增加，表明各年龄段的兽医都需要提高对如何在网上管理个人和职业身份的认识，以尽量减少个人及其执业机构的声誉风险，并保护兽医行业的声誉和诚信。
